Toe and foot slip on protectors

ABSTRACT

A flexible and comfortable separating padded cushion for toe protection having openings at one edge for the toe&#39;s insertion ( 10, 11, 12 13 &amp; 14 ). The base ( 16 ) of the cushion is made of a polymer-based foam material. In addition, a layer of breathable fabric or other flexible material coats ( 15 ) the cushion for supplementary comfort and durability.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 60/508,217 60/627,317 & 60/760,202 FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

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SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION—FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a bandage, specifically to a unit of cushion that will be worn on feet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

People of every walk of life wear closed toe shoes. These shoes are worn even more frequently during the winter months. However, in parts of the world they are worn year round. Professionals especially wear them near constantly.

Today, bandages along with ointments and/or medications are applied after these types of shoes have caused sores ranging from blisters to cuts due to their use. Or, toenails are cut back to remedy half of the problem, however, causing additional problems such as in-grown toenails and unmanicured (or unhealthy) toes.

Thus, never actually remedying the problem or problems. Merely treating the wounds and never having actually fixed the problem area.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION—OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

Accordingly, besides the objects and advantages of the cushions described in my above patent, several objects and advantages of the present patent application are:

-   -   (a) to provide a cushion which can be produced in a variety of         sizes to fit the consumers needs     -   (b) to provide a cushion that will eliminate lesions caused by         prolonged wearing of closed toe shoes, boots and the like.     -   (c) to provide a cushion that both men and women can wear         comfortably, without altering from their regular shoe size.     -   (d) to provide a cushion for both men and women to eliminate         damage to toes from pedicured nails.     -   (e) to provide a cushion which can be produced in a range of         durability to fit the consumers needs. Such as an alternate         material coating used for consumers needing a pair of cushions         for aquatic purposes. Et al     -   (f) to provide a cushion that is versatile and will not cause         additional lesions from it's use and wear, such as blisters.         This is eliminated because of a production of seamless units.

SUMMARY

There is not an apparatus that the consumer can purchase today that will help with the problems that can be caused by wearing closed toe shoes before they happen. I would like to remedy this with this invention by creating a pair of single unit seamless cushion pairs.

DRAWINGS—FIGURES

In the drawing, closely related figures show different angles of a cushion unit.

FIG. 1 shows a cushion unit in 3D for RIGHT human foot

FIG. 2 shows an X-Ray type view of a side of a cushion unit at a toe opening, a soft formable foam material layer and an additional layer of material (NEITHER LEFT or RIGHT SPECIFIC). Interchangeable materials make levels of support needed for individual needs ranging from “Regular” to “Extreme”; whatever case may be.

DRAWINGS—Reference Numerals

10 Largest toe opening 14 Smallest toe opening

11 Next to largest toe 15 Additional layer of opening material

12 Middle toe opening 16 Base material

13 Next to smallest toe opening

DETAILED DESCRIPTION—FIGS. 1 AND 2/PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A preferred embodiment of the cushion of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 (front view) and FIG. 2 (side view cut to see layers). The cushion has a closed base 16 consisting of soft, formable foam which can be worn repeatedly and comfortably between the foot and shoe. A layer of additional material 15 (FIG. 2) is merged with the outside of the base. In the preferred embodiment, the base is a flexible and durable soft formable foam, such as TempurPedic's “Memory Foam”—available from www.MemoryFoamSource.com. However, the base can consist of any other material that can be flexible and durable, such as Sensus foam, Reflex foam, Viscolux foam, Thermolux foam, etc.

At one end of the cushion is a row of toe openings 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14 which allow placement of foot. Additional layer of 15 adheres to base 16 by virtue of the extrusion of liquid coatings (which will form the additional layer 15 or adhesive for the additional layer 15) directly onto base 16. Thus the merged layer will have the same shape as the side of the base 16 to which it adheres.

The base 16 ranges in size from small to very large.

Advantages

From the description above, a number of advantages of my toe and foot slip on protectors become evident:

-   -   (a) A consumer need that has not been met to date will now be         available.     -   (b) Unnecessary wounds will be prevented and new ones from a         “faulty” product will be passed over.     -   (c) Longer wear of closed toe shoes will now be tolerable.     -   (d) Professionals that need extra durability can lessen the         chance of wounds from their performances.     -   (e) Men and woman who prefer the manicured look will no longer         have to sacrifice this healthier treatment during the closed toe         shoe months.     -   Accordingly, the reader will see that the toe and foot slip on         protectors invention can be used to reduce blistering and cuts         from other digits toenails. In addition, the polymer-based         formable foam, which is flexible and conforms to shape and         curvatures, allows the consumer to remain the shoe size that         they are. There is no need to replace older shoes with new, just         to accommodate the invention.

Furthermore, the problems caused by use of closed toe shoes will

-   -   be preventable     -   be remedied     -   be a thing of the past

Although the description herein contains specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. For example, the outer layer may be made of ace, spandex, lycra or wet suit materials, etc. It may not be made of a rigid plastic and other rigid materials.

Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claim and its legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given. 

1. In a cushion of the type comprising a foam body of material having 5 openings on one edge thereof and an additional layer of material adjacent to and communicating with said edge, creating a single seamless unit.
 2. The cushion of claim 1 wherein said body of material is composed of polymer-based foam.
 3. The cushion of claim 1 wherein said body of material is additionally composed of a variety of flexible fabrics, polymer-based foams and, in some units, liquid coatings. 